With the merciful You will show Yourself merciful; with a blameless man You will show Yourself blameless. With the pure You will show Yourself pure; and with the devious You will show Yourself shrewd. For You will save the humble people, but will bring down haughty looks. (Psalm 18:25-27)
It is God’s way to repay measure for measure whether for good or bad. For example, we are warned about how to judge others because, in the way we judge them, we will be judged by them. On the other hand, when we do what is upright, God will recompense us according to the measure that we do what is good. For example Paul said, “He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully” (2 Corinthians 9:6) — measure for measure. This is the principle David alludes to in these verses — i.e. God repays those who do good with goodness from above. To those who are devious, God sets a trap for them.
The Hebrew word translated as “merciful” is חסיד chasid, better translated as “devout.” And so to those who are devout, that is, dedicated completely and wholeheartedly to God, He reveals Himself to them in like kind. He bestows upon them His devoted love; when He acts on their behalf, He does not hold back — He responds wholeheartedly. And should they falter, as David certainly did, He considers their prior devotion to Him and, consequently, corrects them mercifully.
David was spared the fate that befell Saul even though, it could be argued, David’s sin was far worse than Saul’s. Yet, most of David’s life was dedicated to serving God and doing what was upright while the same can not be said of Saul. David willingly accepted his punishment while Saul tried to make excuses for his behavior. In the end, David was forgiven and Saul was not — measure for measure.
The point of this is to emphasize something you probably already know — we reap what we sow. If we want mercy to be extended to us, we must be willing to give mercy to others. If we want God to act on our behalf without reservation, we must be willing to serve Him without reservation. On the other hand, if we choose to deal perversely with others then we should expect God will deal with us in like manner. If we desire His salvation then we must walk in humility because, as David said, the Almighty does not look favorably upon those with a haughty look.
In short, let us do what is right in the eyes of God and continually grow in holiness and purity, knowing that we will be rewarded in this life, measure for measure. I would add this thought however: if we serve Him faithfully, our reward in the World to Come will be beyond measure — beyond anything we can imagine.
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
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